Bicaudaviridae is a family of viruses. This family currently has a single genus (Bicaudavirus). This genus has a two known species - Acidianus two-tailed virus and Sulfolobus virus STSV1.

History

This family was first described in 2005.

The name is derived from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 word 'bi' and 'cauda' meaning 'two-tail'.

Virology

The virons are lemon shaped with two tails - one at either end of a central core. The tails develop outside the host - the only known example of morphological change in a viron outside of its host. The tails terminate in anchor-like structures.

The genome is circular double stranded DNA of 62 kilobases encoding 72 open reading frames.

This family may have either a lytic or a lysogenic life cycle.

The hosts of this family are species in the genera Acidianus

Acidianus

In taxonomy, Acidianus is a genus of the Sulfolobaceae.-External links:...

and Sulfolobus

Sulfolobus

Sulfolobus is a genus of microorganism in the family Sulfolobaceae. It belongs to the archea domain.Sulfolobus species grow in volcanic springs with optimal growth occurring at pH 2-3 and temperatures of 75-80 °C, making them acidophiles and thermophiles respectively...

.